The War Comes To A Close

Neon gasped awake.

Air rushed into his lungs like fire, his entire body jolting with the force of a sudden return. The sharp metallic scent of blood lingered in the air.

His vision swam, his ears ringing, but through the haze, he saw Aria. She was in front of him, blade drawn, body tense.

Protecting him.

His breath caught. They were surrounded? Enemy soldiers, their weapons trained on her. She stood between them and him, her stance unwavering.

"Aria," he rasped, his vision still blurry.

She didn't look back. But she knew. He could see it in the way her shoulders shifted slightly, in the way her grip on her sword tightened. She knew he was awake.

She knew he was watching. And she was ready to fight for him. With him. One last time.

Neon swallowed hard. His head spun. The dream, the collapsing sky, Sakura’s voice whispering through the void— Take care of Aria.

The world snapped into focus.

Smoke and dust swirled in the dim light, streaked with the neon glow of malfunctioning systems. Sparks rained from shattered machinery overhead, casting brief flashes of orange against the darkness. In the distance, the Architect’s towering form loomed, his presence distorting the very air around him, warping the battlefield into something unreal.Neon barely had a second to register his surroundings before Aria’s voice cut through the chaos.

“Stay down!” she barked.

A shockwave tore through the space beside them.Aria gritted her teeth, one hand outstretched as energy pulsed from her fingertips—a barrier, flickering but holding. The force of the attack sent fractures through the ground, and Neon could hear the heavy, mechanical hum of the Architect advancing.

Neon’s heart pounded. He’s here.

But so was Sakura.

She stood between them and the Architect, her stance unwavering. Even through the smoke, her presence was like a beacon, calm and sharp-edged. And beside her—

The General. Aria’s father.

His cloak was heavily torn, stained with blood, his grip tight around the hilt of a blade glowing with the same eerie energy that pulsed through the hall. His gaze locked onto Neon’s for the briefest second before returning to the fight, his focus unshaken.

The four of them—Neon, Aria, Sakura, and the General—against the man who had built this world from nothing.

The man who had bound them all in this endless cycle.

Peter. The Architect.

A slow, crackling laugh filled the air.

“You’ve woken up, boy,” the Architect mused. His voice carried through the battlefield like a static-laced echo, distant and omnipresent. “I was hoping you wouldn’t. It would’ve been easier that way.”

Neon clenched his teeth, forcing himself upright. His limbs felt heavy, his body still sluggish from whatever had happened in the dreamscape. Aria’s hand briefly touched his shoulder—just for a moment, just enough to steady him.

“Get it together, we´re gonna end this,” she said under her breath. Her eyes were fierce, but there was something else there too—relief.

He nodded.

Peter sighed, tilting his head. “You should know, Neon. You should know better than anyone. The world cannot function without this war. You’ve seen it, haven’t you? The way everything would collapse without this cycle. Without _me._” His gaze flickered toward Sakura. “Tell them.”

Sakura didn’t flinch. Instead, she inhaled, steadying herself, and took a step forward.

"Peter,” she said. “You once asked me if I wanted to survive.”

The battlefield seemed to hold its breath.

She exhaled. “I told you I didn’t mind either way.” Her voice was quiet, but it carried. “I was wrong. Let me correct that.” Her eyes softened. “I _did_ want to live. A whole lot more than I had thought. Even so...”

Peter’s expression barely shifted, but there was something in his stance—something unreadable.

“There’s so much for us to see,” Sakura continued. “So much more than just this war. At the deciding moment, we’re all greedy. We all reach for something. I get that. I don’t blame you for it.” Her voice tightened. “But this nightmare has to come to an end.”

Neon felt something deep inside him tremble.

She turned, glancing at him and Aria. “And I finally understand that.”The words settled between them.

Aria straightened, stepping forward, her hand still glowing faintly from where she had been channeling her abilities. Her knuckles were white. “We’re ending this,” she added. “Whether you like it or not.”

The battlefield trembled.

Peter exhaled sharply, almost… disappointed. “Fools,” he murmured.

And then he moved.

A surge of energy ripped through the air, sending a shockwave outward. Neon barely had time to react before Aria grabbed his wrist and yanked him out of the way. They skidded across the cracked ground as the force of the impact tore through the battlefield.

Sakura and the General lunged forward.

Sakura’s blade sliced through the air in a sharp arc, striking against Peter’s form—a distortion of reality itself. The General followed, his movements precise, his strikes landing in rapid succession, forcing Peter to shift, to react.

Neon’s mind raced.

They weren’t just fighting with brute force. They were synchronizing.

Aria’s power flared again, and Neon felt his body snap into motion. He reached for the device on his wrist, activating his tech—sending a surge of electricity crackling through his fingers as he darted forward. His vision locked onto the distortions in Peter’s form, the glitches in his existence.

He saw the weak points. He didn’t hesitate.

With a sharp, fluid motion, he fired.

The impact sent a ripple through Peter’s body, forcing him to stagger.

Aria was there in an instant, her hands glowing as she pressed forward, her power intertwining with Neon’s tech, stabilizing the reality around them—pushing back against the chaos.Sakura’s voice rang out.

“Peter.” She was relentless, her blade flashing through the air as she fought to keep his attention. “Are you happy now? Is this the future you wanted to see?”

Peter snarled, his form flickering. “You don’t understand—”

“All this time,” she cut in, her voice sharp, unwavering. “The world has been stuck in a cycle. All to maintain this state of existence. But this isn’t life, Peter.”

The battlefield trembled. Neon felt something shift.

Peter faltered. For the first time, there was something other than certainty in his eyes.

And in that moment—

The four of them struck.

Neon’s electricity surged through the air, amplifying the force of Aria’s power as she reached forward, pressing her hands against Peter’s form. The General’s blade cut through the distortion, forcing Peter to his knees.

And Sakura—

Sakura knelt beside him, her expression unreadable.

She lifted her hand, fingers trembling slightly.

“Peter,” she whispered. “It’s over.”

Silence.

Peter exhaled. The battlefield shuddered.

And then the distortion began to crack.

A thin, jagged fissure ran through the air itself, spreading outward, unraveling the world around them. Light surged through the cracks, consuming the battlefield in a blinding glow.Neon felt the pull of it, the shift, the unraveling of everything they had ever known.

His breath caught.

And then, in the midst of the collapsing world, Peter smiled.

A small, tired smile.

“…I see,” he murmured.

Then he was gone.

Light split the sky in his wake, and suddenly the ground beneath Neon and Aria tore apart.Neon barely had time to react before an invisible force pulled him backward. He reached out, fingers grasping for Aria, but something was pulling them in opposite directions.

“No—”

Aria’s eyes widened, her expression twisting in horror as she reached for him.

Their fingertips brushed.

And then they were torn apart. The battlefield shattered into nothingness. The war ended.

And when Neon opened his eyes again—

He was alone in Nyxia.